Dancing With Tears in My Eyes
by fairytaleprincess03
Summary: AU- Stephanie Plum is a renowned dancer who runs into her old flame, Carlos Manoso. She thinks everything is in the past, but a stalker and persistent reporter keep putting the former lovers in each others presence. Can Carlos keep her safe? Or will he lose her again—this time permanently?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! It looks like I have one more Plum story up my sleeve. It constantly trickles in on me, trying to take my attention from my other works. So, I'll be writing this one while I write my own original story.**

 **The title of the story comes from Ke$ha's song, Dancing With Tears in My Eyes. It influenced the theme of the story as well. Hope y'all enjoy it :-)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own the characters you recognize.**

 **All mistakes are mine.**

 **Dancing With Tears in My Eyes**

 **Chapter One**

Ricardo Carlos Manoso walked into the restaurant with a beautiful red head on his arm. Normally, he preferred to be low key, but a prospective client wanted to meet with him, and his current bed companion, a reporter for the Trenton Times, was determined to go with him.

"Oh, Ric, I can't believe we are here." His companion gushed. Inwardly, he cringed. He hated the use of his first name. It reminded him of his father.

"You asked to join me, April." Carlos said with a minimal smile.

"Oh, I cannot wait to write a review of this place." April grinned. "It's bound to get me noticed by the editor."

Carlos didn't bother to respond. April was always determined to be noticed by her editor, James. April was a damned good reporter, that much Carlos could attest to. She had done a great piece on RangeMan when he was working on building its reputation. She interviewed him as well as his core team. At the same time, she had flirted unashamedly with him. He was definitely more than willing to reciprocate. In the end, RangeMan gained more clients, and Carlos had a new bed mate. While she believed she was a wild cat in bed, he was inclined to believe differently. Not that it stopped him from accepting any invitation she threw his way when it came to sex.

The maître de was showing them to their table when a familiar voice popped up behind them. "Carlitos?"

Turning, Carlos found his mother behind him. The tiny woman stared up at him, unsurprised to see her son here. She was slowly removing her shawl as a waiter pulled out a chair for her.

"Mama." Carlos walked over and hugged her.

"What are you doing here, hijo?"

"I have a client meeting."

"Ahh, and is this your client?" Maria Manoso raised an eyebrow at April who had come forward to wrap an arm around one of her son's. Carlos could almost feel the dislike radiating off his mother. There had been only one woman Maria had ever approved of for her son. All others would always find themselves disapproved.

"Hello, Mrs. Manoso, I'm April Nelson." April held her hand out. "I'm a reporter for Trenton Times."

"Yes, I recognize your name. You wrote the wonderful piece on my son's business." Maria said politely.

"Thank you. I'm glad I could do Ric and his company justice." April beamed at him.

"Carlitos, I do not want to keep you from your meeting." Maria looked at her son. She looked nervous he thought. He wondered why.

"Mama, is everything fine at home?"

"Of course, hijo."

"Carlos!"

Carlos saw his client coming toward them. Trevor Richmond was a wealthy man who Carlos had known growing up. A fit man, Trevor always looked the same to Carlos, except where Trevor's hair was once black, it was now stark white. He was a man that had always prided himself on his health, which Carlos used as an example when he joined the Army.

When Trevor discovered Carlos opened a security firm, he wasted no time signing on RangeMan's services. Since the Richmonds' were close friends of the family, as well as wealthy clients, Carlos always made sure he was available for them. When Trevor said he wanted to meet at Mediterra in Princeton, Carlos agreed immediately. He had not counted on his cousin mentioning the lunch in front of April.

"Maria!" Trevor embraced her warmly.

"Hello, Trevor!" Maria smiled brightly at him. "How was your vacation in Switzerland?"

"Very fun." He answered, "Larissa loved it and hated that we couldn't convince you to join us."

"I had plans of my own." Maria's smile held a secret. "Are you Carlos's meeting?"

"Yes, but Larissa and I would love for you to join us as well. If you don't mind, Carlos?"

Carlos shook his head. "Of course not." He looked at his mother.

"I'm sorry, I am already meeting someone-" Maria started.

"They should join us, of course." Trevor said, taking no argument. Catching the maître de Trevor asked him to make sure Maria's guest was shown to their table when they arrived.

Small chat ensued while they perused the menu. April was asking Trevor and Larissa, his wife, question after question. Once she discovered they were old family friends of the Manosos, she tried to find out what she could about the child and teenager Carlos had been. Trevor and Larissa politely deterred her questions.

Carlos caught his mother glancing toward the entryway nervously. Was she waiting for a date? Mentally he shook his head. No, his mother continued to grieve for his father. There was no way she would start dating. And not without telling him at least. He would have to run a background check of course-

"Maria, I am so sorry I'm late!"

He froze. The one voice he had only heard in his dreams sounded so real. It had been eleven years since he had heard her. The image of tearful begging had torn through his heart that night and continued to haunt him.

As Maria stood to embrace the young woman, Carlos stood out of politeness. Facing her, the only thing he could say was, "Babe."

~o~o~o~

Stephanie Plum stared up into dark eyes she dreamt about for eleven years. Her heart constricted painfully and the urge to run the opposite direction rolled over her in waves. Somehow she stood her ground.

"Carlos. How nice to see you again." She managed.

"You look...well." _Beautiful_.

"Stephanie," Maria pulled her into another hug and whispered, "I'm sorry, hija, I did not know he would be here."

Stephanie gave her a brave smile. She found herself sitting between Larissa and Maria. Both women had always been kind to her over the years. She looked at the menu, aware of the scrutiny she was receiving from the man sitting across from her.

"Stephanie, you need to eat something. You're much too thin." Maria admonished.

She laughed. "You and Sergei. I'm fine. I dance. I work it all off."

"You were never this thin in high school." Larissa mused, taking in Stephanie's features.

April watched them interact, realizing this was one more person who could tell her about the man she planned to claim. There was something about her, though, that reminded her of something she had seen.

"Wait!" April snapped her fingers. All eyes fell on her. "You're Stephanie Plum!"

Without being told, instincts told Stephanie the woman sitting next to Carlos was a reporter. She had her fair share of reporters, so she knew what to expect.

"Yes, I am."

April's grin was triumph. "I saw your show a few months ago when I was in New York. You're an amazing dancer."

"Thank you." Stephanie smiled politely.

Once the waiter stopped by to take everyone's orders, April excused herself to head to the restroom. Without the reporter there, everyone around Stephanie and Carlos started talking more candidly.

"Carlos, you should really attend Steph's concerts." Larissa gushed, happy to know such a famous dancer. "She's amazing."

"Larissa." Stephanie blushed at the compliment.

Trevor smiled. "She's not wrong, my dear. You were a very gifted dancer as a teenager, and you simply became even better if that was possible."

"I, for one, am certainly glad your mother is no longer in the picture." Larissa huffed while Maria nodded next to her.

Carlos pinned Stephanie with a piercing look.

Meanwhile, April was standing near the entryway with her phone to her ear. "James, you're not going to believe who I'm having lunch with right now."

There was a deep sigh of reluctance. "Who?"

"Stephanie Plum."

"The dancer?" James racked his brain quickly for information. He knew Stephanie Plum was a Trenton native. She'd left Trenton just after her eighteenth birthday. No one had heard from her since including her childhood best friend, Mary Lou.

"I want to do a story on her. No one else has gotten her to open up about her past."

"Do it." James said.

"Do you think her mother will be interviewed?"

James let out a boisterous laugh. "You can try."

April hung up. Tapping her phone against her chin she thought of the challenge ahead of her. She was certain she could find ways to get Stephanie to let herself be interviewed. Everyone knew Stephanie's mother, Helen Plum, was about as likely to talk as a fish was to sing. The only thing Helen would say was that she had one daughter who lived in California. If there was one thing April was good at it was getting to the bottom of things.

And she was going to get to the bottom of Stephanie Plum's life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow! Thank you so much for reviewing. It means the world to me :-)**

 **Disclaimer: Not mine, just playing**

 **All mistakes are mine.**

* * *

 **Dancing With Tears in My Eyes**

 **Chapter Two**

 _"Come on, cuz!" Lester Santos hollered at Carlos as he took his time getting out of the car. "You've been gone a year. We've got girls to meet."_

 _"I just got home." Carlos snapped. Grabbing his duffle bag out of the trunk, he started walking toward his childhood home. He looked up at it. After leaving a year ago to live in Miami with his grandmother, he had been forced to come home._

 _"You want to get laid." Lester replied clapping him on the back. "You can be my wingman."_

 _Raising an eyebrow at his cousin, he studied his appearance. Both he and Lester were good looking, but they both knew if either of them were wingmen, it was Lester. Carlos chuckled as he unlocked the front door and let them in._

 _"Carlitos!" Maria Manoso smiled brightly when she saw her youngest child come through the door. Normally, she would have been the one to pick him up, but Lester had begged her to let him do it. She relented, knowing they had always been good friends. Carlos leaving for a year had been hard for Lester who looked up to his cousin._

 _"Hi, Mama." He hugged her._

 _"I'm so glad to have you home." She took him by the arm, leading him to the large kitchen._

 _Carlos glanced around, looking for any changes that happened over the year. Barely anything had changed. He half expected to see his father standing at the stove whipping up carne con papas the way Carlos's grandmother had taught him. His heart clenched, knowing he'd never see Ricardo Manoso standing in the kitchen again._

 _"Carlitos," Maria said softly touching his arm, "I know it hurts."_

 _He shrugged her touch off. He didn't want sympathy. He wanted his father back._

 _"Tia," Lester spoke up, seeing the anguish on her face, "I thought I'd take Carlos out tonight. School starts in a few weeks, so maybe he should get reacquainted with everyone?"_

 _Maria smiled gratefully. "That sounds wonderful, Lester. I have an event tonight. I was going to call and say I couldn't make it, but if you two won't be home…"_

 _"Go, Mama," Carlos said quietly, "have fun."_

 _Lester watched his aunt walk out of the kitchen with tears in her eyes. He shot his cousin an irritated look. "Damn, Carlos, could you be a bigger dick to your own mother?"_

 _"What?" Carlos glared at him._

 _"Come on, man, I know you're hurting from losing Tio Ric, but your mama lost her husband, and then you left to live with Abuela Rosa. We all know what happened in Miami." Lester leaned against the counter. "Some of us were sure we'd get a call to plan another funeral."_

 _"It wasn't like that."_

 _"No? What was it like?" Lester demanded. He gave a harsh laugh. He didn't want to have this conversation on his cousin's first day home, but it looked like that's what was going to happen. "Fuck, Carlos! You've always had reasonable attitude and kept yourself out of shit. It's not like the family hurts for money. What were you thinking?"_

 _A dull thump-thump-thump came from under them. Instead of answering Lester, Carlos frowned and headed for the stairwell to the basement. It had been converted to a dance space when his older sister practiced ballet. Once she had grown out of the ballet faze, they had added various gym equipment making it a home gym._

 _Lester shook his head and followed Carlos. When they came to the foot of the stairs, they stared at the sight before them. In the middle of the gym, a teenage girl their age was dancing. Brown curls flew around as her body moved to the rhythm of the beat. She was so focused on what she was doing, she never saw them enter the gym._

 _As the song ended, she took a moment to take a deep breath. Lester couldn't resist clapping. The girl jumped and faced them. Her bright blue eyes widened in surprise._

 _"Damn, Beautiful! You can dance!" Lester wiggled his eyebrows. "Wanna dance with me?"_

 _Her lips quirked. "Not a chance, Santos. I've heard of your man-whorish ways."_

 _"Man whorish ways?" Carlos said dryly. "What happened while I was gone?"_

 _"He's created a reputation for himself." The girl replied._

 _"And the only one I can't get to is this one." Lester pointed a finger at her._

 _"Not for a lack of trying." She muttered._

 _"What are you doing in my house?" Carlos demanded._

 _"I clean it."_

 _Looking around the gym, he raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't look like you're doing any cleaning down here."_

 _She glared at him. "Maria lets me use the gym when I finish."_

 _"What's your name?"_

 _Hands on her hips, she said, "Stephanie Plum."_

 _"Since I'm paying you, maybe you can dance for me." Carlos smirked moving close to her. "You might have to change into something skimpier though."_

 _SMACK!_

 _Carlos glared at her while rubbing his cheek. Stephanie glared at him. "Let's get one thing straight. I work for Maria. Not you."_

 _"What's going on down here?" Maria had come down to the basement when she noticed the door open. She had heard the music go off but when it didn't come back on she got worried and came to check on Stephanie._

 _"Nothing, Mama." Carlos said. "I just met our help."_

 _"Carlitos!" Maria sounded horrified. Stephanie looked like she was going to hit Carlos again. Lester wanted her to. His cousin was being a prick. "You were raised better than that!"_

 _Glaring at them, he stormed out of the basement._

 _"Maria, I'm going to head home." Stephanie said. "Thanks for letting me use the gym."_

 _"Of course, dear." Maria smiled at her. "You'll be back Monday?"_

 _"Yep." Stephanie's smile didn't quite reach her eyes. Her hand throbbed from the stinging slap she gave Carlos, and she felt guilty for hitting her employer's son. She just hoped it wouldn't get back to her mother._

 _"Hey, Steph?" Lester waited until she looked at him. "Carlos, he really isn't that bad, and don't feel guilty for hitting him. I was a step away from doing it myself."_

 _"You hit him?"_

 _"Maria, I am so sorry, I just—he just—" She held her hands out helplessly, waiting for Maria to fire her. She could imagine everything her mother would say when she found out._

 _Maria nodded. "It's alright. He's been hurting since Ricardo died and is acting out. Maybe your hit knocked some sense into him."_

 _"I doubt any hit I give him would work for that." Stephanie muttered, gathering her things._

 _She headed upstairs. As she neared the door she saw Carlos sitting on the steps with his head in his hands. She thought about Maria's words. Pausing at the foot of the stairs, she said, "It hurts like a bitch, doesn't it?"_

 _He glared at her. "You didn't hit me that hard."_

 _Stephanie gave a soft smile. "We both know I did, but that's not what I'm talking about."_

 _Carlos scowled at her. "What do you know?"_

 _"Maybe nothing," She shrugged. "My dad died when I was ten. Hurt like a bitch then, and it still hurts."_

 _His face softened as he looked at her. The bright blue eyes held an understanding he hadn't gotten from anyone else. Part of him cracked._

 _~o~o~o~_

"So," April slid back into her seat, as appetizers were being served, "How did you and Ric meet, Stephanie?"

"Oh, I never met Ricardo." Stephanie said, noticing the subtle clench in Carlos's jaw. "He passed before I met the family."

"Well, Ric is right here." April said in a patient voice that indicated she felt Stephanie was clueless.

"I met Carlos right before my senior year of high school." Stephanie said.

"Ric has never mentioned you."

"I don't see why he would. We lost touch years ago." She replied coolly. "But I do remember he hates being called Ric."

"I don't believe in using middle names." April waved a dismissive hand. "Ric is fine with it." She grabbed the drinks menu and started looking through it, oblivious to the look Stephanie was giving Carlos. It was a look of knowing and understanding.

As the meal progressed, Carlos and Trevor and Larissa began talking about the Richmonds' current contract with RangeMan, leaving Stephanie and Maria to converse with April. April couldn't help but marvel at the size of Stephanie's meal, given the woman's thin frame. From the look of approval on Maria's face, the reporter guessed the dancer was probably appeasing the matriarch of the Manoso clan.

"Stephanie, I have to tell you, I work for the Trenton Times."

Out of the corner of his eye, Carlos saw what no one else did. The tension in her shoulders appeared. The area around her knuckles holding her fork turned white. No good was going to come from this conversation. If everything else changed about the woman he'd fantasized about for eleven years, the one thing that wouldn't would be the subject of Helen Plum.

April continued, oblivious to the tension around her. Carlos could feel it coming in waves from everyone at the table. The conversation between himself and the Richmonds came to a halt and his mother was shooting daggers at April. With the exception of April, everyone at the table knew Stephanie's history in Trenton.

"I'd really love to do a piece on your history in Trenton. You know, show the world the famous dancer's humble beginnings." April said pleasantly. "Interview family and friends of course."

Stephanie took a slow deep breath and calmly set her fork down. Looking at April, she gave a polite smile. "Thank you for your offer, but I am not interested in being interviewed."

"Stephanie, people would love to know more about you. Your interviews with other reporters give everyone the bare minimum. You're a mystery. If you give me the chance, I will show everyone who you really are."

Stephanie raised her eyebrows. "If you live in Trenton, you don't need to interview me. I'm sure there are people who have plenty to say." _Like Helen Plum._

"Believe it or not, most people don't mention you." April said. "There's very little mention of you in the Burg or around Trenton. The most people have said is usually about Helen Plum having only one child. I assume Helen is your mother. I've heard rumors she kicked her youngest out of the house and disowned her.

"Carlitos, is that true?" Maria asked her son. "No one talks about her?"

He gave a nod. "It's true. Whenever I'm on the streets I never hear anything about Stephanie." Never mind the fact that he had spent a lot of his time on Stark Street, an area of Trenton he knew Stephanie had never frequented. Most of the druggies and prostitutes had probably never heard of Stephanie.

"So, you see," April continued triumphantly, "People should know the truth about you."

"I've never lied when I've been interviewed." Stephanie responded.

"No, you cleverly avoid questions about your family." April countered. "Let me give the world what they want."

"And what does the world want?"

"They want to know about _you._ Is it true your mother is Helen Plum, the owner of Pleasantly Plum Cleaners?"

"I'm sure the DNA would say she gave birth to me." Stephanie's voice had become cool again. Carlos knew he needed to step in, but his memories told him to let Steph fight this battle. She would only accept help after a certain point. He shot his mother a look of confirmation, who nodded that he was doing the right thing.

"You haven't spoken to her in years have you?" April was ready to whip out her notebook. She had Stephanie right where she wanted her. This was going to be great. "What caused it? Did she want you to take over at Pleasantly Plum? Is it true she kicked you out of the house when you were eighteen? Was it over a boy?"

"Isn't it always?" Stephanie countered with a roll of her eyes. She leaned back in her chair. "I'm sorry, Ms. Nelson, but I will not be interviewed about my past. It's just that. The past."

April quickly tried to regroup. "If not about your past, would you consider an interview about your future? Dancers don't have a long career, do they?"

Stephanie considered this. If it kept April out of her past, this could work. And, she admitted to herself, she'd been thinking of getting out while she was ahead. She was in great health and took care of her body, but she was keenly aware that anything could happen to end a dancer's career. She had some ideas though.

"We'll see." Stephanie said. April looked like she wanted to continue arguing, but Stephanie turned to Maria. "There's a new show being put together. Sergei is choreographing it. Will you come see it?"

"Of course! When is it?"

"A couple months from now." Stephanie looked at the rest of the table. "You're all invited of course."

Maria caught the look in her son's eye and knew he would be there. April nodded enthusiastically. Perhaps a little too enthusiastically, Maria thought. Stephanie worked hard to keep her private life under wraps, but Maria knew in the dancing world, people wanted to know more about her. There were very few who knew the truth.

After lunch finished, Carlos took one last look at Stephanie before leading April out of the restaurant. There was a sadness tinged around the sapphire eyes that met his.

April barely let him start the car before bombarding him with questions. She wanted to know everything about Stephanie. Normally he had the ability to fall into a zone when he drove and tuned out distractions. Stephanie was hardly a distraction. Resisting the urge to run a hand over his face, he thought back to all the times over the years his mother had encouraged him to call Stephanie. He never realized that Maria had kept in touch with her. He should have, he thought. Maria had come to dote on Stephanie like she was her own child. Once Maria claimed you as one of hers, it was a lifelong claim. Carlos could only hope it had done Stephanie a world of good, especially after his actions and the actions Helen Plum.

"Ric, are you listening?" April demanded. "Details! I need details. What can you tell me about her?"

Realizing April was still on the subject of Stephanie he replied, "Nothing."

"Oh, come on," April's tone was reproachful, "I don't believe that for a moment. The way your mother talked, the two of you have known each other for years."

"I don't have anything to tell you, April."

"Then perhaps you can tel me why you called her Babe." April suggested. "Were _you_ involved with her?"

"April, I'm not giving you information about Stephanie. I'm respecting her desire to keep her past quiet."

The coldness in his voice made April back down. She knew he was a hard ass with his men, but he'd never exhibited that with her. Of course, their arrangement had been primarily sex, but April knew she was beginning to get into the cracks of his personal life. After all, she had met his mother. Some people might call it coincidence, but she called it fate. Ric might not realize it yet, but she was here to stay.

Carlos pulled up to the door to her apartment complex. Before getting out, she gave him a cute little smirk, "Want to come up? I've got some excess energy I need to burn."

"I have to get back." He replied.

"Call me soon." April said letting herself out.

By the time Carlos got back to RangeMan, he felt mentally exhausted. He had been over those last days with Stephanie in his mind hundreds of times over the years, but seeing her again brought everything racing back. It was just lunch, he told himself. Just lunch. She could continue her dancing career and he would be here protecting those who needed help.

"Hey Ranger!" Lester Santos was in the garage to greet him. "I've got news for you."

He looked at his cousin. Lester had always had his back. He had definitely claimed the man whore title Stephanie had given him when they were teens. Lester would have loved seeing Stephanie today. They had always had a good camaraderie with each other.

Carlos decided he would tell Lester about Stephanie later. Right now, he needed to get to his apartment on the seventh floor and think.

"Can it wait?"

"No...the guy wants an answer ASAP." Lester replied as he fell into step with his cousin. "Ranger, the guy's a pretty famous choreographer. He's concerned about one of his dancers. "

"We don't have a bodyguard service going on here, Santos." Ranger replied as he opened the door to the fifth floor. He saw his second in command waiting for him, along with the company medic. The solitude of his apartment was going to wait apparently.

"Yeah, but I figured you would want to consider it this time." Lester was practically bouncing on his feet. "See his talent is a dancer."

"Let me guess-"

"It's Stephanie Plum!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for the reviews everyone! Y'all are wonderful!**

 **Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize belong to JE, I'm just playing.**

 **All mistakes are mine.**

* * *

 **Dancing With Tears in My Eyes**

 **Chapter Three**

 _"Stephanie, Mom wants to see you." Valerie said standing in her sister's bedroom door. She watched as Stephanie stretched into a plié._

 _Stephanie looked up at her sister and raised her eyebrows. Valerie had dyed her hair golden blonde. It actually worked really well for her. She was dating a guy named Steve that she'd met in college. Stephanie thought he was a creep, but Valerie had no desire to listen to a word she said._

 _Her older sister currently sported a little black dress and a bored expression. Her blonde tresses had been curled into large loose waves. She didn't inherit Steph's wild curls._

 _"Do you know why?" Stephanie asked straightening._

 _Valerie rolled her eyes. "No. Just go already. I want to finish getting ready for my date. Steve said he has something important to ask."_

 _Stephanie watched her sister walk to her bedroom and shut the door. Shaking her head, she made her way down the stairs to find out what Helen wanted. She couldn't imagine she'd done anything wrong. Helen didn't wait this long to let her know when she was in trouble._

 _"Stephanie." Helen's voice was brusque. "The Morelli's called. They need someone to go clean their place tonight."_

 _"Tonight?"_

 _"Yes, tonight." Her mother said impatiently. "They had a party that went a little 'crazy' as Angie Morelli puts it. Now go."_

 _"Mom, I –"_

 _"Stephanie!" Helen snapped. "This isn't up for debate. Get going."_

 _Stephanie looked like she was going to argue, but instead grabbed her keys and purse. She kept the cleaning supplies in her car most of the time. She would have liked nothing more than to fight against her mother, but she knew Helen could and would drag her out of her dance classes. It wouldn't have been the first time._

 _No, the first time she had done it was after Frank died. Stephanie had found salvation in dancing, while Helen viewed it as the evil that had killed her husband. Frank had been killed by a drunk driver while he was out looking for Stephanie. Nobody had come to pick her up from her dance lesson. Deciding to walk home, Stephanie had quickly gotten lost. She'd become scared when darkness fell and she still didn't know where she was. A couple years ago, Stephanie found out from her grandmother that Helen was supposed to have picked her up that night. She was busy getting her cleaning business off the ground and forgot. Frank came home to find his youngest child missing and was livid._

 _He drove around trying to find her when the drunk driver hit him. The paramedics said he'd died on impact. Helen hid things from the world as she played the grief stricken wife. The police found Stephanie and in public Helen was grateful to have found her daughter. In private, she ranted and raved endlessly that Stephanie's dancing had gotten her father killed._

 _Shaking the memories off, Stephanie found herself at the Morelli house rather quickly. Memories made time fly apparently, she thought dryly._

 _Unsure of why the Morelli's would want their house cleaned now, Stephanie headed up to the front. Knocking, she waited until the door opened._

 _"Stephanie Plum."_

 _She looked up into the whiskey brown eyes of Joe Morelli. He gave a lazy grin as he reached out to finger one of her curls._

 _"Joe. I didn't know you were back."_

 _Joe Morelli had left to join the Navy when she was sixteen. At the time, she had been working at the Tasty Pastry. He came in on his last night with hopes to relieve her of her virginity. Instead he found himself curled up on the floor clutching himself while Stephanie held a broom in front of her, ready to swing again if he tried anything else._

 _He wasted no time telling Helen that her daughter assaulted him. Stephanie was forced to quit the Tasty Pastry and it was how she found herself working for her mother._

 _"You look good enough to eat." Joe smiled the smile that got him into plenty of women's pants. "I think we still have some cannoli from the party. You interested?"_

 _Stephanie rolled her eyes. "I am only interested in cleaning the house."_

 _"You work for your mom now?" Joe's grin widened. "I should talk to my mom about hiring you until I leave. She deserves a break you know. It's been hard for her since my dad died. I'm sure you understand how that is."_

 _Bristling as she made her way in to see the mess, and mentally groaned when she saw how bad it was, she said stiffly, "It's always hard to lose someone you love."_

 _Over the next couple hours she worked diligently, keenly aware that Joe was continuing to watch her. Joe tried making conversation, but Stephanie shot down his attempts. She knew how the Burg Rumor Mill worked, and she'd be damned if she added more to it than she already did._

 _Finally finishing, she was about to leave when Joe's older brother, Anthony, walked in. He looked around the house. "Nice, Joe. Mom won't have to do anything later." He turned and saw Stephanie gathering her cleaning supplies. "Well, well, we got the good help, huh?"_

 _She gritted her teeth as Carlos Manoso's words came back to her being the help. She hated being termed that way, but knew it was inevitable._

 _"Now, Stephanie," Anthony walked over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, not taking the hint when she tried to shrug it off, "do you provide all kinds of services? Ones that we pay you directly for?"_

 _"Anthony, back off." Joe broke in before Stephanie could do anything. "You don't have to call her a whore."_

 _"I'm just trying to make your visit home memorable." Anthony defended himself._

 _"Well don't do it that way." Joe snapped. "I can get myself laid."_

 _"You don't seem to be doing a good job of it since she's not on her back."_

 _"Fuck you." Joe reached out and grabbed Stephanie out of Anthony's grip. "Aren't you supposed to be at the bar?"_

 _"Whatever." Anthony rolled his eyes._

 _When he was gone, Joe turned to Stephanie. "Stephanie, I'm sorry."_

 _"Thank you." Her voice was soft. Joe knew enough about her history to know people didn't come to her defense a lot. From what his own mother said of Helen Plum, Stephanie would get more love from a she-wolf. It made him feel guilty for his earlier interactions with her._

 _"Look, I know you think I'm trying to get in your pants, but I'd really love to take you out. Not all of us Morellis are assholes."_

 _Stephanie gave him the first real smile since she'd arrived. "Joe, I like you, but not like that."_

 _"How do you know if you won't go on a date with me?" He cajoled._

 _She considered for a moment, then asked, "What do you want to do when you're done in the Navy?"_

 _"Become a cop." He said without hesitation. "After watching the way my dad treated my mom, I want to help stop shit like that happening to others."_

 _"That's really impressive." Stephanie said surprised. Most people knew the Morelli reputation. Drinking and womanizing, though there were some who suspected abuse was there. Joe's statement confirmed the rumors for Steph._

 _"I know everyone wonders." Joe picked up Stephanie's train of thought. "I'm glad the bastard is dead though. My mom can sleep in peace."_

 _"You just tried to play the dead dad card to get into my pants." Stephanie said with a raised eyebrow._

 _"Like you said, I was trying to get into your pants." Joe gave a quick grin._

 _"You're a pig!" Stephanie laughed._

 _His laughter joined hers. Looking at her he saw someone who would become a good friend to him._

 _"What about you, Steph? What are you going to do when you graduate?"_

 _She looked at him seriously. "Get the hell out of here."_

~oOo~

Stephanie opened the door to her apartment, thankful she was home after such a long day. Dance rehearsal took longer than it normally did. She knew it was because she was distracted. Very little could get into her head when she danced, but Carlos was anything but little.

Walking through the apartment, she began undressing for a shower. Thinking about lunch made her heart race. She had not expected to see Carlos again. After everything that happened, Stephanie assumed she would never see him again. Maria had always been confident that they would find their way back to each other.

He was so much different than the boy she remembered. It was clear he did a lot of training while he was in the Army. He had muscles when they were eighteen, but nothing like what she saw today.

Hot water hit her. Closing her eyes she tried to block out the feelings that announced their continued existence. It was a high school fling, she told herself for the millionth time. And she believed herself about as much as Maria did when she said it. _Besides_ , she thought, _he has a girlfriend_.

A nosy reporter. Stephanie ran her hands over her face before grabbing the shampoo. Of all things to ask her about, Helen Plum. Stephanie was not a fan of talking about her mother. She didn't like doing it when she lived under Helen's roof, and she didn't like doing it now.

What surprised her was Carlos dating April. She couldn't picture him dating a reporter. He didn't like them. Actually, she corrected herself, she couldn't see her Carlos dating a reporter. The man who stood before her today was someone else. Someone she didn't know. There were times though, during lunch, when she saw her old lover in his eyes.

By the time Stephanie got out of the shower, the hot water had done it's job as a soother. She felt calmer. Pulling on yoga pants and a loose tank top, she went to the kitchen to prepare her dinner. A light salad, she decided, pulling the ingredients out of the fridge. Despite working off the heavy meal she ate at lunch, she wanted to maintain her weight so her dance partner wouldn't have to accommodate for added pounds.

Sitting at the table with her completed salad, she took a deep breath and forced her thoughts away from the man who still carried her heart.

Dinner was interrupted when someone pounded on the door. Stephanie frowned, trying to think of who knew she was living here. At the door she looked in the peephole, then swung the door open grinning. "Joe!"

"Hey, Steph!" Joe Morelli swung her into a hug. "You look good! Any chance of a date now?"

Stephanie laughed. "None at all! Besides, wouldn't your wife have something to say about that?"

Joe grinned. "Aw, Tammy would let me have a one off for ya!"

"You're a pig." She motioned him in, then shut the door. "What are you doing here?"

"April Nelson was at the precinct getting information from Costanza earlier. She was trying to hit him up for anything he might know about you." Joe answered settling himself on her couch. "Big Dog and Eddie shut her down fast."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Seriously? I told her I wasn't interested in being interviewed so she goes around me?"

"Uh, Steph, listen, rumor has it she's sleeping with Ranger." Joe said uneasily.

"Ranger?" Stephanie looked confused. "I thought she was sleeping with Carlos. That's the impression I got at lunch today."

"Carlos is Ranger." Joe explained. "Wait, you had lunch with Ranger and April?" He was surprised. After their split, Stephanie refused to speak about Carlos. When Joe ran into Carlos, or rather Ranger, at the precinct they'd recognized one another and silently agreed to leave the past in the past. While most might assume the military had hardened Ranger, Joe continued to suspect losing Stephanie had been the catalyst.

"Technically, I was having lunch with Maria. They were there with one of Carlos's clients. Did you know he owns a security firm?"

"Yeah, RangeMan." Joe nodded. "TPD works with them regularly. Some assume they're a bunch of thugs."

"Do you?"

"In another life, maybe." He shrugged. "It works as a cover for them, since they do a lot of work on Stark Street."

"Wow." Stephanie looked dazed. "Carlos did it."

Joe watched his friend. "You're not over him."

"What?" Her gaze snapped to his. "Of course I am. God, Joe, it was high school!"

"Sorry, sweetheart, but some loves are found early in life." He told her.

"He was my first love, but that doesn't mean I still have feelings for him."

Stephanie glanced at Joe and found herself squirming. He didn't believe her. "How did you never mention Carlos working with TPD?"

"You don't let anyone bring him up," Joe shrugged, getting up and helping himself to the beer Steph kept in the fridge, "And from what Santos has told me, Ranger doesn't let anyone bring you up."

"Santos...Lester? You're talking to Lester also?" Stephanie's head felt like it was spinning.

"He's a great poker player. Cleaned me out last week, clever bastard." Joe grumbled as he sat back down. "Tammy nearly skinned me when she heard how much I lost. Besides, Lester said you two still talk."

"We do," She murmured. Lester never brought Carlos up. He'd tried once but when he realized Stephanie wasn't having any of it, he stopped trying. All he told her when he got out of the army was that he worked in security. She wanted to shake her head. In all the time she spent avoiding thinking about her old love, she'd forgotten Carlos wanted to keep people safe. His original plan had always been to go into security.

A knock at the door interrupted the conversation. Stephanie answered it and found a delivery man holding a large bouquet of flowers. "Stephanie Plum?"

"Yes," She replied.

"These are for you. Please sign." He held out a clipboard.

Once the delivery man was gone, Stephanie walked to her kitchen. Joe ambled up beside her and looked at the flowers. "Nice. Any idea who they're from?"

Stephanie shook her head, but found a card sticking out from the top. "Let's find out."

Joe read over her shoulder.

 _Dearest Stephanie,_

 _You know we've missed each other. The time we spend apart is hell. We'll be together again. I promise._

"Are those from Carlos?" Joe asked, secretly wanting to give the man a hard time the next time he saw him. A good ribbing was overdue.

Stephanie shook her head. "No."

"How do you know?"

"He never called me Stephanie unless he was pissed off." She replied absently. "It was always Babe. Still is since that was what he called me when we saw each other today."

Joe's cop instincts kicked in. Rereading the message, a twist in his gut told him this wasn't good. He had a sneaking suspicion his friend was being stalked.

"Steph, have you had any problems with other dancers or fans?" He asked.

"What?" She asked distractedly. "No." She looked up at him. Recognizing the look on his face, she shook her head. "No, Joe. I haven't had problems with anyone."

"This feels off." Joe confessed, to avoid keeping her in the dark. "Be careful. If you start feeling off about anything call me."

"Ok." Stephanie was a little concerned about the note. She hadn't had anything strange happen to her. She hadn't seen anyone watching her, well more than usual.

Joe pulled his friend in for a hug. "I've got to head home. Tammy's not feeling well, but she wants to come over and make you dinner."

"I can go to you guys." Stephanie offered.

"Really? You're going to step foot in Trenton?" Joe look amused.

"You live in Franklin Park." She replied. "I know Tammy's pregnant. You told me it hasn't been any easy pregnancy. I'll come to you."

"Thanks, Steph." He squeezed her one more time before releasing her. "I appreciate it. Tammy will love seeing you."

Stephanie showed Joe to the door. "Get back to your wife. I want to eat my dinner."

Joe glanced at the salad and rolled his eyes. "A salad. Y'know there are some great foods other than salad."

Stephanie stuck her tongue out at him. "Goodnight, Joe."

"Seriously, though," He paused on his way out. "If something seems off, call me. Or better yet, call RangeMan."


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for the reviews, everyone! Y'all are wonderful :-)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own any characters you recognize. I'm just playing with them.**

 **All mistakes are mine!**

* * *

 **Dancing With Tears in My Eyes**

 **Chapter 4**

 _Carlos walked into the kitchen the next morning, rubbing his eyes groggily. He and Lester stayed out late. His mother was waiting up when he got home. A small part of him felt guilty for treating his mom callously._

 _"Good morning, Carlitos." Maria greeted him. She was glad to have her son home, but after hearing from Lester about Carlos's treatment of Stephanie, she was going to have a talk with him._

 _"Mama."_

 _"You have a curfew." She said pointedly. She'd waited up to know for sure he was going to be home. The business in Miami had scared both her own mother and herself._

 _He shrugged. "It was a welcome back party. We stayed later than we meant." He opened the fridge door to find breakfast._

 _"I'm letting it slide this time." She continued as though he hadn't spoken. "But it won't happen again."_

 _"Geeze, Mama. Lighten up." Carlos rolled his eyes._

 _"Lighten up?" Maria repeated. "Lighten up? Ricardo Carlos Manoso, you will remember who I am to you. You will not treat me with such disrespect! I let you live with your grandparents because you were having such a difficult time after losing your father. If I had known it would have turned you into such a disrespectful child I never would have let you go. You're lucky you didn't end up in jail for your actions in Miami. I don't know who you think you are right now, but I promise you your father would be ashamed of you!"_

 _They stood in the kitchen glaring at each other. Carlos broke eye contact first. She was right. He'd been an ass. "I'm…sorry, Mama."_

 _Maria nodded once. "Sit down, Carlitos. I'll make an omelet. Do you still like everything in it?"_

 _"Yes." He sat at the kitchen island and watched his mother as she moved deftly, chopping, whipping, sautéing the food. Maria spent as much time as his father in the kitchen. Carlos had always loved watching their interactions in the kitchen. It was like watching them dance._

 _"How's your cheek?" Maria asked conversationally._

 _"My cheek?"_

 _"I heard Stephanie slapped you."_

 _"Are you firing her?" He asked._

 _"No, I'm not firing her," Maria chuckled. "I admit, I hoped it would knock some sense into you."_

 _"No one knocks sense into me the way you do, Mama." Carlos smiled at her._

 _She burst out laughing. "Good to know."_

 _Maria was grateful it hadn't taken more than the brief yelling he got. She was fortunate that her youngest was always more amenable when it came to discipline than his older siblings. Maria was pretty certain he'd seen all the trouble his brother and sisters got in and knew how to avoid it. Despite his sisters torturing him as a child, he'd become a laid back teenager. Until last year. He'd become withdrawn with Ricardo's death._

 _"Why aren't you firing her?" Carlos asked. "I'm just surprised. You've never let anyone get away with disrespecting us."_

 _"Ahh, but who disrespected who first, Carlitos?" Maria asked. Her son flushed giving her her answer. "I don't condone hitting, you know that. Stephanie already felt guilty and was prepared for me to call her mother to tell her what happened. I was not going to do that."_

 _"Why would you call her mother?"_

 _"Her mother owns Pleasantly Plum Cleaning." Maria explained. "Helen Plum. She puts on a well-crafted front to the whole world. A widow who dotes on her two children. Does her best to make sure she can give them the best of the world."_

 _"What do you see?"_

 _"If it had not been for the scene I witnessed, I would still believe her act," Maria admitted. "She's an excellent actress. I came home early one afternoon when Helen was here with Stephanie. Occasionally, Helen will accompany one of her maids to make sure they are following the example she has set. She was unaware that I returned."_

 _Maria bit her lip, lost in thought. Carlos raised an eyebrow. When she noticed her son watching her with a concerned expression, she hastened to continue, "Helen was…verbally abusive to Stephanie. From what I overheard, she firmly believes Stephanie will do no better than a maid. She's pushing her to be the best maid she can. Stephanie told Helen she plans to dance for a career, not clean houses, Helen laughed at her and told her to stop dreaming. That it was useless. She'll never be more than a maid."_

 _Tears sprang to Maria's eyes. "I've thought over all the years, watching you and your brother and sisters, but I cannot ever remember telling any of you to not continue dreaming. Telling one's child they'll never be anything more than they want to…" Maria swallowed, shook her head then continued. "Helen is unaware that I heard the conversation. Stephanie, on the other hand, knows."_

 _"That's why you let her dance here." Carlos guessed._

 _"Yes." Maria nodded. "If her own mother will not push her to pursue her dreams, and build her up, someone else should."_

 _Carlos sat there for a minute. Stephanie's reaction to him made more sense. Looking at his mother, he observed, "So, instead of firing Pleasantly Plum Cleaning, you hold onto them so you can look after Stephanie."_

 _"Si." Maria finished cooking the omelet and placed it on the counter in front of Carlos. "Eat."_

 _"Mama, you have an amazing heart." Carlos told her._

 _~o~_

Ranger walked into Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. Ironic, he thought, that he would be offering his services to Stephanie's cousin. Connie Risolli sat at her desk, painting her nails, phone cradled between her ear and neck. Her eyes lifted to the door when it opened. She quickly ended her conversation and hung up.

"Hi, Ranger." She said with a grin. "Vinnie's waiting for you."

"Thanks." He nodded.

"Before you go in, what's the deal with your reporter friend asking about Stephanie Plum?"

"Reporter friend?" Ranger raised an eyebrow. Outside of his mother, he'd never introduced April to anyone as his friend. His men knew she was a bed buddy, but outside that, he didn't advertise information to anyone.

"Oh yeah," Connie waved a polished hand, "She came in, said she was _good_ friend of yours. Thought that would get her the inside track." Seeing his blank stare, Connie kept talking, "I didn't tell her anything of course. I don't even know what happened when Stephanie left town. Rumors were that Helen kicked her out. It wouldn't be a far stretch considering Helen only acknowledges Valerie."

"I see." Ranger said.

Connie narrowed her eyes at him. "You never met Steph, did you? You'd've liked her. She was dancer. Still is from what I've seen online. Pretty famous. Bet Helen's regretting cutting her off."

Ranger let Connie continue talking, digesting information. He remembered hearing at the lunch that Helen kicked Stephanie out. Or the rumor of it. He hadn't thought of asking his mother about it. It would be a good idea to talk to her, especially once he was done talking to Sergei. He'd reluctantly agreed to Lester's request to look into Sergei's concerns.

"Thanks, Connie," Ranger nodded at her when Vinnie's door opened and the squirrely little man came out.

Once he was done with Vinnie, Ranger headed back to RangeMan. He'd sent Lester to Les Sebring's office to get any files they had waiting for them. They were meeting back at RangeMan in time for their meeting with Sergei.

Ranger had done a search on Sergei after Lester told him about the coming meeting. The man didn't seem threatening. Everything came out clean about the man. Taking his searches further, Ranger came across videos of Sergei's dances. A few of them featured Stephanie. Unable to help himself, he found himself watching them—watching her. Their lunch companions the day before were right. Stephanie had only improved as she'd gone on to her professional career. If he thought she was magnificent when they were teenagers, he couldn't begin to describe how much more she was now.

Pulling into the garage at RangeMan, he saw Lester waiting for him. "Hey, Cuz." Lester waved.

Ranger nodded his greeting. "Get the files?"

"Yeah, a few big ones." Lester held them up. They walked to the elevator and headed towards the fifth floor. "They'll be good pay days for us."

"Good."

"Ranger, your eleven o'clock is here." Tank poked his head out of his office. "When did we start doing bodyguard service?"

"This is a different situation." Ranger replied walking past with Lester right on his heels.

They entered Ranger's office and found a tall, lithe man waiting for them. He was bald on the top of his head, the rest of the hair shaved close. He looked to be in his mid to late fifties. He clearly took care of himself from what Ranger could see.

"Carlos Manoso?"

"I prefer to go by Ranger." He replied, extending his hand.

"Ah, yes." The man nodded. "I spoke with Lester Santos yesterday about a situation I'm hoping to have your help on."

"So he told me." Ranger looked over his shoulder at his cousin. "Please, have a seat, Mr…"

"Sergei Coleman."

"Mr. Coleman." Ranger didn't blink at the last name. His search told him his mother was Russian and married an American man.

"Please, call me Sergei." Once all the men were seated, Sergei explained. "I have a brilliant dancer in my show right now. Her name is Stephanie Plum. She's friendly, quiet, and outside dancing, does little to draw attention to herself. Lately though, there have been a few notes."

"What kind of notes?"

Sergei leaned forward, pulling out an envelope from his back pocket. "Mostly, they are directed at me." He said handing them forward. "They want to make sure I am putting Stephanie in the show as much as possible. The way they are phrased, worries me for _her_ safety, rather than my own."

Lester stood behind Ranger as he opened the envelope and looked at the notes. Sergei was right, while aimed at him, they were more threatening towards Stephanie. The person behind them seemed obsessed with her. Whoever it was, wanted to make sure Stephanie was completely on display, describing her as an angel to be admired and viewed.

"Why haven't you gone to the police?" Ranger asked.

"There's been no physical attack of any kind." Sergei replied. "I may just be being paranoid for my dancer, but your mother mentioned it might be best to talk to you, since you work in security."

Ranger filed away the comment about his mother. He was about to ask another question when a quick knock on the door interrupted them. Tank poked his head in.

"Sorry to interrupt, Range-man, but Detective Morelli is here. Said to tell you it's about Stephanie Plum." Tank told him.

"Show him in," Ranger had a sinking feeling that Morelli's appearance here was no coincidence.

"Morelli," Lester greeted the detective when he walked in the door. "Poker game next Saturday. You in?"

"Always." Morelli smirked, then spotted Sergei in the room. "I can come back if you're still in the middle of something."

"Actually, Sergei is here for Stephanie as well." Ranger replied.

Morelli nodded. "I was visiting Steph last night and she got a flower delivery." He explained the note that came with the bouquet.

"Does this mean you'll look into it?" Sergei asked.

"We'll look into it." Ranger said.

Morelli and Sergei both looked relieved. After they left, Ranger leaned back in his chair. He let out a deep sigh.

"Carlos, are you okay?" Lester asked.

He'd forgotten his cousin was still in there. Lester's silence was nearly as honed as his own, which helped them tremendously when they were on missions during their time in the Rangers.

"I'll be fine." He answered.

Lester watched him for a few moments. Carlos would keep things to himself, but Lester had a gut feeling that this situation had to happen.

"How does Sergei know your mom?"

"Probably through Stephanie. Haven't you met him?"

"Nah, I usually met up with Steph after a show." Lester grinned. "She likes to try keeping me away from the other dancers. Apparently, she thinks I'm still a man whore."

"You are."

"That hurts." Lester feigned a hurt look on his face.

Ranger raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you have plans tonight to soothe the pain."

"Yeah, there's a great club in Princeton. Want to come?"

Ranger thought for a moment. "Sure."

"Awesome! There'll be lots of hot babes there." Lester clapped him on the back.

Ranger chuckled. "Get to work, Santos. You'll partner with me on it since you decided to have RangeMan venture into a new area."

"Yessir!" Lester mock saluted as he sauntered out, closing the door behind him.

Ranger rested his head against the back of the chair. Looking at the ceiling, he thought of a conversation he had with his mother the day after he'd moved back from Miami. Stephanie was doing really well for a dancer. He wondered if Helen Plum was involved in any way.


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for all the reviews, everyone! I truly love getting them. My apologies for taking so long on this update. I had to work some things out for the overall story. This chapter might be a bit choppy, but I didn't see certain things taking too long to come to a new road.**

 **Disclaimer: Any characters you recognize are not mine. I'm just playing with them**

 **All mistakes are mine**

* * *

 **Dancing With Tears in My Eyes**

 **Chapter 5**

 _Stephanie walked into the club, her body already moving to the beat pulsing through the atmosphere. Breathing deeply, she walked past everyone and found her way into the middle of the dance floor. Closing her eyes, she let her body move to the music._

 _Grandma Mazur was amazing, she thought briefly before succumbing again to the lure of the music. Her grandmother didn't hesitate to find ways to sneak Stephanie out of Trenton so she could be a teenager. Tonight, they were in Newark. Edna's excuse to Helen was that she'd found an amazing bingo hall and needed to go. There would be alcohol involved and Edna wanted to make sure she was careful. In reality, there was indeed a bingo hall, but Edna had no idea if there was alcohol or not. She was going to play Bingo until Stephanie was done dancing with kids her own age. She'd done her own research and found a club that let teens in. While Helen wasn't willing to let her daughter be a teenager, Edna was and she'd make sure Stephanie had the time to be one._

 _Feeling a pair of hands on her hips suddenly, Stephanie whirled around and found herself looking up at Lester Santos's grinning face._

 _"Hello, beautiful!" He yelled over the music. "Dance with me!"_

 _She laughed at his infectious attitude and let him lead through their dance. She gave Lester credit, he could dance. He kept up with her, something she found most partners incapable of. When it came to dance, she felt like she had endless energy._

 _After a few dances, Lester convinced her to take a break and get water. He led her over to a table where she saw Carlos sitting with others. He was watching her with intensity. Stephanie wondered if he'd been watching her dance._

 _"Man, beautiful, you wear me out!" Lester threw an arm around her, and then whispered in her ear, "Give him a chance. He's been reamed by me and his mom." Louder, he said, "Guys, this is Stephanie."_

 _One of the girls gave her a disapproving once over, "Bringing your latest conquest by, Les?"_

 _Stephanie snorted and rolled her eyes. "He wishes." Lester feigned hurt, before going off to find drinks._

 _The girl laughed. "Oh, I think I like you." She held out her hand. "I'm Marisol. Come, sit down. You were dancing for so long, I wondered if you were going to drop on the floor."_

 _"I might've." Stephanie admitted as she sat next to Marisol. "Lester almost dragged me off the dance floor."_

 _"You've got some awesome moves." Marisol complimented. "Do you dance regularly?"_

 _Stephanie nodded. "Yes. I'm hoping to get into Julliard."_

 _"That's ambitious." Carlos commented. "But seeing what you've got out there, and what you did at my house the other day, I can't see you not getting in."_

 _"Thanks." She blushed. "It's pretty competitive, but I'm going to give it my all."_

 _"Do you live in Newark?" Marisol asked._

 _"No," Stephanie shook her head. "I live in Trenton."_

 _One of the other girls looked at her, eyes narrowing. "I recognize you! You've cleaned my house! You're a maid!" She spoke with such derision, Stephanie felt herself becoming defensive._

 _Marisol shot her an ugly look. "Shut it, Brittany. There's nothing wrong with earning income." She looked at Stephanie. "Ignore her. She thinks everyone is beneath her." Marisol leaned close and whispered, "She's really trying to get to Carlos, but all of us can tell he's not interested."_

 _Stephanie smiled at Marisol. "Thanks."_

 _Lester came back to the table with drinks for everyone. Stephanie sat back and watched as they slowly worked their way back onto the dance floor. She watched as everyone moved, looking for new moves to try._

 _Carlos moved to sit next to her, intrigued by her focus on everyone. "What are you looking for?"_

 _"Nothing specific." She answered. "People move in different ways when they dance, and I can find new moves, or new ways to move in a certain style. It helps me continue learning new things." Stephanie faced him, and smiled._

 _"Listen, I'm sorry about the other day." He said. "I was an asshole. There's no excuse."_

 _Stephanie nodded once. "Okay."_

 _A rendition of the Bachata came on, and Carlos smiled. "Can you dance to this?"_

 _"You can dance?"_

 _"Don't sound so surprised." Carlos chuckled. "I'm one of two boys. Rafe, my older brother, and I constantly got pulled into helping our sisters learn how to dance. I can dance to almost anything." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Unless, of course, you don't think you can keep up with me."_

 _"The question you should ask yourself," Stephanie said smugly, "is can you keep up with me?"_

 _"Let's find out, Babe." He stood and held his hand out for hers._

 _~o~_

Stephanie stretched her arms over her head before bringing them to the floor in front of her. She rested her forehead on the ground and took slow breaths. Rehearsal had been brutal before Sergei announced he had a meeting and was cutting things early. No one knew if they should be nervous or not since Sergei wasn't known for short rehearsals.

"Hey, Steph!" An enthusiastic voice said above her. Without lifting her head, she knew Andy was next to her.

Andy was one of her regular partners when Sergei held a performance. It had been a few years since they'd seen each other, but Stephanie knew Andy was still in top shape. Otherwise Sergei wouldn't have let him audition.

"Hi, Andy." She turned her head so she could look up at him. He sat next to her to work on his own stretches. "Plans for the evening?"

"A few of us are planning to hit up a club in Newark. Want to join?" Andy ran a hand through his dark locks before reaching for his ankles.

"That sounds great!" Stephanie did't get a chance to go to clubs as often as she wanted to. There was something freeing about not having to follow strict choreography at times. Whenever she worked with Sergei she always made time to go to a club. It was a nice break from his demanding work.

"Maybe we can get together this weekend to catch up." Andy suggested.

"Absolutely." Stephanie nodded.

They stretched together for a while longer before getting up to see if anyone else was going to join them. Before they left the studio, they'd managed to get a small group of people who wanted to blow off steam at a club. Some wanted to get laid, they joked, others just wanted to dance without being told to do it again and do it right.

Stephanie met the group at the front entrance of the club. In dark red, knee length dress, with matching heels, she was ready to dance. The men in her group catcalled and whistled as she walked up.

Laughing, she shook her head. "You guys are too much!"

"We can't help it if you're beautiful." Devin, one of the male dancers, replied. "Save me a dance?"

"Of course!" She answered.

Before too long, they were in the club. While some sat at a table enjoying their drinks, others were on the dance floor reveling in the rhythm of the beat.

Stephanie found herself in the middle of the dance floor, eyes closed, body moving with the music. Everything in her day to day melted away; the stress of the show, the curiosity of who sent flowers, the daily life stressors. She lost herself in the rhythm.

All too soon the song ended. Opening her eyes, Stephanie let out a small sigh, then headed to the table where her friends were at. Most of them came to the club simply to enjoy the music without being yelled to dance. Some showed off what they could do outside of their jobs. Others came to gossip.

"Nice moves, Plum!" Andy waved her into the seat next to him. Sliding into the booth she took a sip of the water her offered.

"Thanks!"

She barely had time to sit before Devin was pulling her out of her seat. "Come on. I love dancing the Samba!"

For the next hour, Stephanie found herself moving from dance partner to dance partner. The energy was infectious. Andy danced with her repeatedly, explaining his girlfriend trusted Stephanie more than she trusted strangers.

Finally, she broke away from everyone and headed to the bar. She needed to get a drink. When she reached the bar, she saw a familiar face and grinned. "Marisol!"

The bartender looked over then let out a whoop of delight. "Steph!" She finished the drink she was making, then hurried down to meet her. "Oh my God! Look at you!" Marisol hugged her over the bar. "You want a drink? On the house!" Marisol winked.

"Won't you get in trouble with your boss?"

"I am the boss." Marisol grinned. "I've got a pretty good knack for clubs, and people. So, I bought this place and here I am!"

"That's awesome!" Stephanie ordered a drink. She and Marisol chatted while it was being made, making a promise to get together for lunch in the next couple weeks to catch up. Stephanie was thrilled to see her old friend. She didn't get a chance to see Marisol as often as she wanted.

Stephanie was almost finished with her drink when Andy caught up to her at the bar. "I talked to the DJ!" Andy looked excited. "He's going to do a salsa. You ready?"

Stephanie waved at Marisol over her shoulder as Andy pulled her back onto the dance floor. They moved through the Salsa then to freestyle. As the song shifted beats, Andy tried to lead Stephanie into a bachata. She tried to steer him to a different dance, but he kept leading back to the bachata. Abruptly, she walked off the dance floor and sat down at the booth. Andy trailed behind her looking disappointed. "Steph, I thought you'd enjoy dancing to the bachata. It's a great dance."

"I don't dance the Bachata." She replied.

"You can dance it thought, yes?" Devin asked with a raised eyebrow. "I can't imagine you _not_ knowing how."

"Oh, I can dance it." Stephanie assured them.

"Better than anyone I've met." A new voice said from behind her.

Stephanie turned and saw Carlos standing behind her. "Carlos." She breathed. She could hear the other women at the table gasp when they saw him. His shaggy dark hair fell close to darker eyes that smoldered as they stared at Stephanie. It was a smolder she'd never forgotten. He'd chosen a black button up shirt, with the first few undone, giving the women a sneaking glimpse of the muscled chest hidden under the fabric. The dark jeans he wore just added to the image. The five o'clock shadow he sported made her mouth water.

"You two know each other?" Andy asked, looking between the two.

"Babe." Carlos held a hand out, ignoring the question. "Care to see if I can still keep up?"

Wordlessly, she nodded, placing her hand in his. Part of her wanted to run away, but the stronger part (and more daring part if she was being truthful) wanted to be in his arms dancing again. He'd been on her mind since seeing him again. She'd fantasized over the years about being able to dance with him again.

Together, they walked out on the dance floor. Next to the dancer's booth was Lester's. Lester had seen his friend dancing but hadn't had a chance to catch up with her. He'd known the moment Carlos saw her. The look on his face was the same as when they were teenagers. No one could but that look of rapture on his cousin's face quite like the dancing brunette.

The two tables stared in awe at the couple. Sensuality radiated off the two of them in waves. As Romeo Santos's "Promise" came on and jaws dropped across the club as they watched two people dance together like they'd been born to do it. Men and women all felt the heat and passion from Stephanie and Carlos as they moved. It was erotic without being vulgar.

They still matched each other, Stephanie thought, her gaze rarely leaving his. Their bodies still recognized the same rhythm. The bachata was a precious dance for Stephanie because of Carlos. Their friendly first dance had slowly become more sensual. He still knew how to handle her and she him.

Unthinkingly, Carlos became whispering the lyrics to her in her ear whenever she was close. Stephanie closed her eyes as they moved; her body felt like it was on fire. When he pulled her close, she could tell he was having the same reaction.

The song ended with Carlos holding her close to him. They stared at one another, breathless. Finally, Carlos asked, "Can we talk?"

Stephanie hesitated. "Is it safe?" At his nod of assurance, she agreed.

"Did you drive?" He asked.

"Cab." She answered.

"Let's go." Carlos said.

They made their way back to their respective tables. Devin almost immediately pounced on Stephanie. "Tell me you're going home with that sex on a stick. If you're not, let me."

She gave a small smile. "Sorry, Devin, he's not your type."

Devin gave a small pout, but he smiled seconds later. "You were beyond amazing out there. You two danced like you've spent your lives dancing together."

"How do you know him?" Andy asked.

"Oh, we knew each other when we were teens." Stephanie replied airily. "Anyway, I'm gonna get going. I'll catch up with you guys later."

"Oooo, girl!" One of the girls laughed and winked. "You'd better be really relaxed when we see you next!"

Stephanie blushed and waved.

Lester gave her the biggest shit eating grin he'd ever had. "Beautiful, damn! I'd forgotten you two could move like that."

"Shut it, Santos." Stephanie rolled her eyes.

"No, seriously," He said. "You two looked great. He said he's taking you home. You okay with that?"

Stephanie nodded. "Yeah. We're going to talk."

"Are you sure?" Lester looked at her with brotherly concern. "You two spent so much time refusing to talk about each other…"

"I know, but it sounds like it's time." Stephanie said.

"I'm only a phone call away if either of you need me." Lester promised.

"Thanks. You're great." Stephanie kissed him on the cheek.

"I know. Now, I thought I saw Marisol earlier. I've gotta see if she wants to catch up." He waggled his eye brows suggestively.

Stephanie burst out laughing. "You're such a man whore!" She called as to his departing back. She shook her head, then caught up to Carlos.

"Your cousin is a man-whore." She informed him.

Carlos nodded, "Sounds like him." He led her to his car, a sleek black Porsche.

"Nice." Stephanie looked at the car appreciatively.

"Thanks." He opened the door for her to get in.

Moments later they were on the road. Stephanie started to tell him where she lived, but one look from him had her quieting. Apparently, he already knew. Stephanie wondered if Maria was responsible for that. The remainder of the ride was quiet.

Stephanie wanted to be nervous, but somehow felt calm. The last couple days, she'd had plenty of time to reflect on Carlos. She assumed the man driving was not the same man she knew as a teen. After eleven years, they'd changed. She wanted to go into everything with an open mind. She had loved him intensely. If certain things changed, then perhaps they would have a chance again. If they weren't meant to be, then this time it could end naturally. She was done being scared of seeing him.

It took Stephanie a few moments to realize Carlos was parked in the parking lot to her building. With a small laugh and shake of her head, she got out of the car. He followed her to the apartment, taking in all the security risks available.

"Come in." Stephanie opened the door for him. "Would you like some tea?"

"Water is fine." Carlos answered.

Grabbing a couple bottles of water, Stephanie motioned for Carlos to take a seat on the couch. Settling near him, she handed him the water. After a sip to calm her nerves, she asked, "Is he dead?"

"Yes."

"How long?"

"A couple years."

Stephanie nodded. "You never called."

"I know." Carlos ran a hand through his hair. He'd been ashamed of himself by that point. He still wasn't sure what he could have done differently to protect her. He couldn't bring himself to call her after that. He was sure she'd moved on; found someone else to be happy with.

"At lunch…you barely spoke to me." Stephanie said softly. "I thought you hated seeing me."

His gaze whipped to hers. "I have _never_ hated you. I will never hate you. Fuck, Steph, I was surprised to see you. For some reason it didn't occur to me that my mother would be having lunch with you. It should have. She pretty much claimed you before I'd even moved back from Miami. I was afraid you hated me."

"Hate you?" Stephanie echoed. Dawning suddenly lit her face. "Oh, Carlos." She shook her head. "I wanted to hate you, then. It took some time, but I understood, even through the anger, that what you did was to take a target off me."

"You lost your dad, then the way your mom treated you…" His voice trailed off. Stephanie reached out and took Carlos's hand. She squeezed it comfortingly, and felt a familiar jolt when his fingers entwined with hers and squeezed back.

"Helen never gave me any kind of love." Stephanie said. "You gave me a love I've never had before or since."

"I've missed you." Carlos confessed. The raw pain on his face clenched at her heart. "I wanted to hear all about you, but I couldn't handle it. I was a coward, so I wouldn't let anyone talk about you."

Stephanie smiled. "I guess that makes us both cowards. I was dying to know about you, but the idea of hearing you were with anyone else hurt so much, I refused to let anyone say anything about you."

"There was never anyone else." Carlos told her. "There was one woman I thought about briefly, but it turned out she wanted to marry a soldier so she was trying to get pregnant on purpose. I stopped things before that could happen."

"There hasn't been anyone serious for me either." Stephanie told him. "And to be honest, it was easier to hide in dancing than to let myself get too emotionally attached." She curled up and watched him for a few moments. He was nervous. Based on his actions at lunch, Stephanie guessed he was only letting her see his emotions now that they were in private. Interesting change in his demeanor, she thought.

"You look good." Stephanie said finally. "More muscles."

"Army training." Carlos replied. "Then Ranger training."

She nodded. "What do you want to do, Carlos?"

"About us?"

"Mm-hmm."

"We know we don't hate each other." He said. Stephanie nodded again. "I wanted to keep my distance, but seeing you at lunch, then seeing you tonight. Babe, I'm not sure I can. I'd like to get to know you again."

Stephanie's grin lit the room. "I'd like that too."

Unable to resist, he leaned over and kissed her. It was meant to be a soft kiss, but she responded the way she used to. Leaning into him, the kiss deepened, tongues reacquainting after years apart. His hands cupped her face to him, sliding into her hair, tangling in the curls. Her hands clutched his shirt front, holding him close.

She moaned softly as one of his hands slid down to her leg. Gently trailing up her thigh, he started under her skirt. Stephanie broke the kiss. "No."

Carlos shook his head to clear it. "No?"

"No, we're not going farther than that kiss." Stephanie stopped his hand. "You're not getting me in bed on the first night."

"But…your body remembers me." Carlos said with a slight pout.

Stephanie giggled. "And the way part of you is responding, yours remembers me. But you want to get to know me again, right? Me, not just my body?"

"Yes." He answered quickly. He hadn't lied about that and he didn't want her to think he had.

"Then sex is off the table right now."

"But…I…are you…I…" Carlos looked forlorn. Stephanie couldn't stop the laugh. While he admitted to not have relationships, she was sure he hadn't lived like a monk.

"Oh, my god. Did Santos turn you into a man-whore?" She laughed. "Is that what you've become?"

"No!" He growled, but Stephanie continued to laugh. He reached over and tickled her. Shrieking with laughter, she moved away, only to have him follow her. It was music to his ears, Carlos thought. He hadn't felt relaxed like this in years. Knowing Stephanie didn't hate him brought a weight off his shoulders he didn't realize was weighing him down.

"Okay, Babe." Carlos said when he had Stephanie secured in his arms. "We'll do this your way. We'll date. But when we get to sex, it's going to be good." He kissed her forehead.

Stephanie wondered how long she was going to be able to wait. She knew this was the best. They'd date first. That way they could find out if their adult selves had the same chemistry their teen selves had.

"Steph, while I'm happy to have another chance with you, there is something we have to talk about." He said, looking down at her.

"What's that?"

"You might have a stalker."

"What?" She pulled away looking up at him.

"Your choreographer, Sergei, came to talk to me at RangeMan today." Carlos continued. "He's concerned about your safety." Carlos explained what Sergei told him.

"What made him come to you—Maria." Stephanie answered her own question. "If he mentioned this to her, she probably told him to come to you."

"Why would Sergei tell my mother about those notes?"

"I don't know." Stephanie said quickly.

"Do you have any ideas who could be after you?"

Shaking her head slowly, Stephanie said, "No. I can't think of anyone."

"RangeMan is going to be at the studio to set up security, to see if we can keep you, and the other dancers, safe from whoever this is." Carlos told her. "I didn't want to surprise you with this."

"Thank you."

"There's one more thing," Carlos took a deep breath. "April is trying to an investigative piece on you for the Trenton Times."

"What's to investigate?" Stephanie asked. "Where I buy my dance shoes?"

"She's determined to figure out what made you disappear from Trenton." Carlos said. "She's going around talking to your old friends. I'm guessing she's going to try talking to your mother."

"I don't have a mother." Stephanie replied. "Helen made that very clear the night I was kicked out."

"What happened?"

"It was the same night things ended between us." She answered. "She told me I was no longer her daughter and I could live somewhere else."

Carlos looked confused. "Babe, this doesn't make sense. Why would she kick you out?"

"You."


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: I have no excuses for how long this took to update. I do apologize.  
**

 **Not mine, just borrowing them.**

 **All mistakes are mine :-)**

* * *

 **Dancing With Tears in My Eyes**

 **Chapter 6**

 _Stephanie opened the front door to Helen's business office and shut it quietly. She was five minutes late and Helen wouldn't hesitate to catch her out for it. It wouldn't matter that Stephanie was soaking wet from the rain, or that she'd run from the bus stop to her mother's office. All that would matter was Stephanie was late._

 _"Stephanie!"_

 _She winced at the sound of Helen's voice. Setting her duffle bag down she headed to her mother's office. "Hi, Mom."_

 _"You're late." Helen stated, eyeing her critically. "And dripping water all over the floor."_

 _"I'm sorry. Val has my car since hers in the shop." Stephanie explained. "The bus got caught in construction."_

 _"If you didn't insist on this silly dance thing you wouldn't be late." Helen replied, dismissing Stephanie's explanation. "You have a job."_

 _"I'm not going to clean houses forever, Mom."_

 _"This is a perfectly respectable job and it keeps you in the dance classes you supposedly have to have." Helen retorted. "There's no shame in cleaning."_

 _"No, there isn't." Stephanie agreed. "But I'm passionate about dancing and I know I can go far as a dancer."_

 _"Dreams are nice, Stephanie, but perhaps you should consider making sure you have something practical to rely on. After all, you can' t expect to be as successful as your sister."_

 _Stephanie felt her cheeks heat up. She hated when Helen compared her to Valerie. Nothing she ever did was as good as Valerie. Stephanie could dance circles around her sister. Valerie was stiff when it came to dancing, and she didn't waste her time with cleaning. As far as Helen and Valerie were concerned, Val was going to be a successful wife to her lawyer boyfriend. They'd been dating for a couple years, but even Stephanie could tell Steve was going to propose soon._

 _All while Helen planned for Stephanie to continue working for her. Stephanie couldn't wait to find a way to get away from her mother and sister._

 _"Go change clothes and head to the Manosos." Helen ordered. "They're having a party and would like their house cleaned up beforehand. Be prepared to head over there tomorrow morning to clean as well."_

 _"Mom, I have dance class in the morning."_

 _"And who do you think pays for those classes?" Helen snapped._

 _The trust daddy set up for me, Stephanie thought but wisely stayed silent. She knew it was in her best interest not to let her mother know Grandma Mazur told her why Helen couldn't stop her from dancing. Instead, she nodded and went to change clothes._

 _The bright side was she would able to catch up with Carlos. The last couple months since he'd returned they'd gotten to know one another better. Lester was right, Carlos wasn't really as bad as he'd come off the first night. He was funny, determined, and for some reason Stephanie couldn't figure out, watched her dance with an intensity that was almost unnerving._

 _At least there was a silver lining to being a maid for her mother, Stephanie thought with a secret smile_

 _~o~o~o~_

Carlos blinked. "Me?"

Stephanie nodded. "The night things ended with us, I came home and Helen kicked me out."

He leaned back and looked at her. "Babe, I need a bit more than that."

"My sister told Helen she'd seen us kissing. Helen was livid that I would risk her reputation." Stephanie answered. "So, she decided she was done with me."

"Oh, Babe…" Carlos wanted to track down Helen Plum and make her hurt the way she'd constantly hurt Stephanie over the years. Then he wanted to track his teenage self down and kick his ass for hurting her.

"Carlos," Stephanie touched his cheek. "I'm not telling you this to make you feel guilty. It was an unfortunate dominos effect. Thankfully, Grandma Mazur took me in until I went to Julliard."

"Did my mom know?"

"Yes, about three days after, I think. From what I've been told, Maria called Helen to find out why there was someone new cleaning her house. She used the guise of being concerned about having to get used to someone new. Helen made up some random excuse. Maria was alarmed because whatever it was Helen said didn't sound like me."

"She found your grandmother." Carlos guessed.

"Yep. She came straight over to Grandma Mazur's and demanded to know what happened. Right after hearing the whole story, she fired Helen." Stephanie rolled her eyes. "You should have seen Helen after that. She knew Grandma took me in and came over in absolute rage."

"And I wasn't there."

Stephanie saw the guilt in his eyes. "Carlos, you're here now."

"You had to become much stronger without me." He said, running a hand through his hair. "I wasn't there to celebrate achievements with you, or hold you when you needed to be held."

"Nor was I for you." Stephanie said softly. "We can feel guilty or angry, but that won't change anything. We can celebrate the wonderful times we had together, and look forward to making new ones."

He stared at her. She was much more at peace with herself than she was when they were teens. It made him determined to be worthy of her and not lose her this time. "I don't know if I deserve another chance, honestly, Babe. I've done some things in my career that have been pretty dark."

"Carlos-"

Pressing a finger to her lips, he continued, "But I'm grateful to have the chance. I'll be by your side as long as you want me there."

Stephanie's eyes filled and she blinked them back. She gave the finger against her lips a quick kiss. "That sounds good to me."

A thought occurred to Carlos as he reached over to pull Stephanie back into his arms. "Babe, do you want a protection detail on your grandma? With the possibility of a stalker, she might be targeted."

"You don't have to worry about Grandma." Her voice had a hint of sadness to it. "She passed away a couple years ago."

He held her tightly knowing how much it would have hurt her to lose her grandmother. Kissing the top her head, he said, "You've lost all your family."

"I gained family too. Your mom is a wonderful woman. I'm so very lucky to have met her. I can never thank her enough for everything she's done for me." Stephanie smiled as she burrowed into his warmth. "And believe it or not a couple years ago Valerie and I started talking." Carlos stayed silent, waiting for Stephanie to continue. "She has a couple adorable little girls, Angie and Mary Alice. When she saw how similar they were to me and her, she reached out."

"I don't understand."

"Mary Alice is her youngest. She believes she's a horse." Stephanie chuckled. "It's rather adorable—perhaps more so because I don't live with her. Valerie told me she saw the same spirit in Mary Alice that she saw in me. We're pretty sure Mary Alice will end up working with animals an adult. She said she wants me in the girls' lives to show them it's possible to achieve your dreams."

"Didn't she get that herself with whoever she married?" Carlos thought back and remembered Stephanie telling him about her sister's boyfriend and how she thought he was douchebag.

"She's felt pretty unsatisfied for a long time. She loves being a mother, but she feels like she missed something and she's not sure what." Stephanie told him. "Steve took Valerie out a few years ago and they saw one of my shows. Valerie asked Grandma if there was any way I'd talk to her. I went more out of curiosity than anything. Needless to say, I was so shocked when she broke down crying and apologizing for the way she treated me growing up, you could have knocked me over with a feather."

"That's impressive." Carlos replied resting his chin on the top of her head.

"It is, but I haven't heard from her in a few months." Stephanie said. "The last time I talked to her was before rehearsals began for the new show. She sounded strange."

"How often do you two talk?"

"It's been slow going, but at least once a month. Sometimes it's longer because her schedule with the girls is hectic and she's never sure when I'm awake." Stephanie sighed contently. "I'll give her a call tomorrow. I'd like to hear how she and my nieces are doing.

~o~o~o~

Helen Plum sat in her office looking over the customer satisfaction reports. Overall, everyone was pleased with her employees. Still, she thought, it wouldn't hurt to pop in on a few of the girls. Especially if any of her clients had good looking sons. She was _not_ going through that again. She refused to lose any clients because her workers couldn't keep their legs closed.

A timid knock on the closed door made her sigh in irritation. "Come in!"

The door opened and tiny head poked in. "Grandma Plum?"

"Yes, Mary Alice?" Helen asked trying to maintain some patience. It wasn't her granddaughter's fault Valerie had moved back in with her after her husband left her for the babysitter three months ago. Steve had been clever and moved everything out of their accounts before Valerie noticed. How did Valerie not have a handle on her family's finances, Helen wondered. She knew her daughter had gotten a business degree and had great money management skills. How had she gone so far off track?

"Angie is being mean to me." Mary Alice said softly, tears brimming on her lashes. "I don't like it."

"It's because she's being stupid." Angie said from behind her. Angie pushed the door open so Helen saw both her granddaughters.

"Don't call your sister stupid." Helen told her oldest granddaughter.

"But she is!" Angie protested. "She keeps acting like a horse. I told her to stop being stupid because she'll never be one!"

"Angela!" Helen heard Val's voice from down the hall. "What have I told you about bullying your sister?"

Angie rolled her eyes. "Maybe if she'd stop I wouldn't do it."

"I've had it." Valerie ground out "You're grounded. To your room. Now."

"But!"

"Now!"

Helen looked at Mary Alice. The dejection on her youngest granddaughter's face stirred something in her. "Mary Alice, do you really want to be a horse?"

Mary Alice nodded emphatically, her eyes lighting up. "Oh yes! They're wonderful! I know all about them!"

"That's great, sweetie," Valerie said coming into view at last. Helen looked over her critically.

She'd put her daughter to work when Val moved back in. Helen refused to let her child be lazy. There were shadows under Valerie's eyes. She wasn't sleeping as much as she used to. From what Helen had seen when she visited, Valerie had had the luxury of being a stay at home mom with someone else to do the cleaning. It was evident her daughter had become lazy. Helen was going to work that out of her, and her granddaughters.

As soon as Angie was old enough, Helen planned to have her go out with Valerie so she could begin learning what was expected. She could make sure Mary Alice understood that some dreams were too unrealistic to pursue.

"When you're older, maybe you can study how to be a horse doctor instead." Valerie was saying. "You'll be able to spend all sorts of time with horses then."

"Really?" Mary Alice looked excited.

"Mary Alice, perhaps you should consider doing something more practical. Some dreams should remain just that, dreams." Helen smiled what she considered a gentle smile. Mary Alice's face fell. "When you're older, you can come work for me."

"I don't want to." Mary Alice said stubbornly.

"You might when you're older."

"No! I want to be a horse doctor! I'll want to then too!"

"We don't always get what we want, dear."

"I'm going to be a horse doctor!" Mary Alice said with a stubborn look on her face and ran from the office before Helen could say more.

"Really, Valerie, you need to get her under control." Helen sniffed. "This is honest work."

"Mother, she's seven."

"And already showing defiance."

"She can have her dreams. There are plenty of people in the world who achieve their dreams." Valerie replied. Like my sister, she thought. She'd had the opportunity to see Stephanie dancing a couple years ago, before Steve left. Valerie had been amazed at the dancer Stephanie was. She couldn't believe how she never saw it when they grew up together. Now that she had her own two children she wanted to push them to be whatever they wanted. Hearing Helen browbeat her daughters was too much.

Valerie suddenly felt a wave of gratitude hit her. She was fortunate Stephanie had been willing to meet with her. It was an emotional day for both of them. After realizing the cruelty of the way she'd treated her little sister, Valerie would not have blamed Stephanie at all if she'd chosen to ignore her instead.

Knowing her daughter's would have their aunt in their lives made it easier for Valerie to move back to Trenton from the west coast. She also realized she needed to call Stephanie to let her know what had been going on.

"Valerie, you need to get a handle on this now. If she gets too out of hand who knows what might happen."

She might end up successful at something she loves like her aunt, Valerie thought rebelliously. Before she could say anything else, Mary Alice came bounding into the office.

"Grandma Helen! There's a person here who wants to talk to you!" She motioned behind her. "This is April Nelson. She wants us to tell her all about Aunt Stephanie!" Mary Alice looked Valerie. "Mommy, can I tell her about how we saw Aunt Stephanie last summer and how she took me to a horse ranch?"

Valerie looked up and saw the cold fury on Helen's face before Helen schooled it into the carefully crafted look she had for anyone who came to see her about her business.

"Mrs. Plum, it's so nice to meet you and your daughter." April stepped into the office with smile. Valerie was certain there was something predatory about it. April looked at Valerie, "You've got the most precocious daughter. I would love to hear all about her adventures with her Aunt Stephanie."

Valerie felt nauseous. She had to call Stephanie.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you for all your wonderful reviews! I apologize for the lengthy wait for update. This chapter was slow going and I hope y'all enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own them, I just play with them. Any characters you don't recognize are probably mine!**

 **All mistakes are mine.**

* * *

 **Dancing With Tears in My Eyes**

 **Chapter 7**

 _Stephanie slammed on the brakes. She was late. Thankfully, she knew Maria wouldn't tell her mother. The last thing Stephanie needed was Helen chastising her for being late._

 _Grabbing the cleaning supplies out of the back seat, Stephanie hurried to the door and knocked._

 _Maria smiled as she opened the door. "Stephanie! How was dance class?"_

 _"It was wonderful." She answered, slightly breathless. "We focused on Latin dancing this morning. I love the bachata."_

 _"The bachata is a beautiful dance." Maria closed the door behind her. "Ricardo and I used to salsa all the time."_

 _"Yeah, all over the house too." Carlos said coming down the stairs. "They couldn't keep their hands off one another."_

 _"Mijo, when you find the one, you'll want your hands all over her." Maria informed him, grinning at the dramatic roll of his eyes. "You'll want to dance with her until you can't dance anymore. And then, you'll want to continue dancing with her."_

 _"If I want to stop dancing I will." Carlos replied. He wasn't about to admit that dancing the bachata with Stephanie made him want to dance with her to it all the time._

 _"You'll see, mijo. You'll see." Maria said with confidence. "Now, be nice to Stephanie while she cleans. I'll let her punch you again."_

 _"Mama!"_

 _Stephanie snorted with laughter. It had been this way for the last several weeks. Maria liked to tease Carlos about being hit by Stephanie even though she knew they'd made up and were actually on quite friendly terms. Maria suspected it was because Stephanie lost her father that she could relate to Carlos. Maria was happy to see her son mellowing out from the rebellious behavior that got him in trouble in Miami._

 _Most of the time he was home when Stephanie came to clean, which didn't bother Maria because she knew her son respected Stephanie. He'd admitted a couple weeks after he met her he could understand why Maria was trying to nurture Stephanie. Helen Plum had supervised a visit and Carlos had a firsthand account of how brutal Helen was to her daughter._

 _Carlos had come home from school, instead of hanging out with his cousin and friends. Something told him to be there. When he came through the garage door, he could hear Helen criticizing the way Stephanie cleaned. His jaw dropped when he heard her threaten to take Stephanie out of all dance classes. The worst part was Stephanie didn't defend herself. It seemed Helen Plum had her daughter in a perfect situation for controlling her. Carlos understood Maria's attitude toward Stephanie even more. He wanted to protect her from that. He didn't know why, but he felt like he needed to._

 _"I'm heading out to the club." Maria was saying, "So try not to get into trouble when your cousin comes by, Carlos. Lester mentioned something about wanting take you out to a party."_

 _Carlos shrugged. "Yeah, later tonight. I won't be there long."_

 _Maria nodded. "If you stay later than you think, please call me."_

 _Stephanie was fascinated by their interaction. Carlos came back from Miami angrily bitter over losing his father as well as whatever situation it was that caused him to come home (neither he nor Maria were speaking about it), but Maria embraced him with open arms, despite any hurtful comments he made. They seemed to clear the air between them and were interacting better than Stephanie had interacted with Helen. If Stephanie acted the way Carlos had, she could only imagine the punishment Helen would have produced._

 _"Have a good night." Stephanie said as Maria gathered her purse._

 _"Thank you, Stephanie." Maria smiled at her, then left._

 _Carlos set himself up at the dining table to work on his homework while Stephanie cleaned. For an hour they worked silently, passing an occasional comment. Stephanie usually started cleaning upstairs then worked her way down. Carlos always kept himself downstairs out of respect for her. He knew how it could look if someone came home and he was upstairs with her._

 _When Stephanie worked her way downstairs, Carlos paused in his homework. "How's it going?"_

 _"Good!" Stephanie flashed a quick smile. "You guys are one of the tidier houses I clean. I've had some that give me nightmares."_

 _"Oh really?"_

 _"Yes, and talking about them will give me nightmares also." She laughed. "How's the homework going? Did you get caught up in calculus?"_

 _Carlos had complained a couple weeks ago that calculus was going to do him in. He was smart when it came to the other subjects, and until his calculus class, he'd believed he was pretty smart in math too. He nodded at her. "Yeah, I went to a tutor at school. They helped me get on the right track. I understand it better now."_

 _Stephanie smiled. "That's great."_

 _Carlos rose from his seat and went to the kitchen for a drink. "So…I've been meaning to ask you. Would you like to go out with me Saturday?"_

 _Stephanie paused with a mop in her hand. She looked at him questioningly. "Like a date?"_

 _"Yes, like a date. Unless you have plans, of course." He added quickly._

 _"I usually spend the evenings with Grandma Mazur." Stephanie said. "But she'll be thrilled I have a date."_

 _"Is that a yes then?"_

 _"Oh, yes!" She laughed. "I'd love to."_

 _Carlos smiled. "Great!"_

 _~o~o~o~_

Stephanie stretched out on the floor watching the men from Ranger's company, RangeMan, look for ways to make sure the studio was secure. Other women in the studio, along with some men, were eyeing them with blatant curiosity. Stephanie couldn't blame them. Carlos's men were absolutely gorgeous to look at.

She rolled her eyes when she saw Lester preening in front of the women. She knew it was futile to hope she could keep him away from her dancers.

Sergei looked up and began barking orders to his dancers when he saw their attention diverted. They hustled to their positions and spent the next few hours going over the routine. Sergei broke for lunch when Carlos stepped into the studio to go over the security plan they'd agreed on.

"Steph," Andy wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked toward their bags. "Want to grab a salad at the cafe?"

"Oh, sorry, Andy, but I have plans." Stephanie said. She'd heard a voicemail from Valerie right before she'd come in to the studio and hadn't been able to call her back right away. Stephanie wanted to get to a quiet area where she wouldn't be disturbed.

"You had plans all weekend." Andy pouted. "When are we going to get to catch up?"

Stephanie smiled. She had promised Andy they would get together, just them, so they could get caught up in each others lives. When she first signed on with Sergei eight years ago Andy was there to be a friendly face. They formed an easy friendship, one Stephanie valued greatly. Andy had gone to work for another choreographer four years ago and after that they'd only been able to catch up through quick texts and short emails.

"You're right, Andy." Stephanie said. "Are you busy tomorrow night? There's a great pizza joint right around the corner. We'll go after we're done here and enjoy some pizza and beer."

Andy's face lit up. "Great!"

Grabbing her small duffle bag, Stephanie headed upstairs where Sergei kept his offices. Most of the dancers usually left for lunch. Stephanie did so as well, but when she needed some privacy, Sergei let her use his office. Figuring she had a few minutes before Sergei and Carlos came up stairs to go over the paperwork, Stephanie shut the door and pulled out her phone.

"Stephanie?!" Valerie's voice sounded frantic.

"What's wrong? Are the girls hurt?" Stephanie asked, scared at her sister's tone of voice. Her message this morning had not sounded that frantic.

"No! No, no, they're fine." Stephanie let out a breath of relief, then Valerie continued. "I haven't had a chance to call you but I'm living back in Trenton. Steve was cheating on me with the babysitter. He cleaned out our finances."

"That bastard! What can I do to help? Where are you living?"

Valerie hesitated for a moment. "I'm living back with Mom."

"Oh, Val..."

"It isn't easy, especially seeing how she treats Mary Alice." There was a noise on Valerie's end, sounding suspiciously like sniffling. After the heart to heart the sisters had a few years ago, Stephanie suspected Valerie was trying hard not to let her hear her crying. "But, that's only part of why I needed to talk to you. Mom knows the girls and I have been visiting you."

"Oh, no." Stephanie knew how that had to be going. Helen was more than likely livid that Val would associate with Stephanie. "Are you alright?"

"I am. She's going to work on guilting me in to not spending time with you, but that's just not going to happen. The bad part is April Nelson was visiting Mom when she found out. Mary Alice wanted to talk about the fun things you've taken them to do."

Stephanie felt her heart sink. The reporter was determined to do a piece about Stephanie's past. With Val living with Helen again, and Mary Alice's excitement, April would be able to get more than enough.

"Stephanie, I am so so sorry." Val sounded like she was going to burst into tears.

"It's not your fault." Stephanie said firmly. "No tears. April Nelson has been trying to convince me to let her do an article on my past. This isn't your fault, nor Mary Alice's. I'm glad my nieces have such a wonderful time with me and I'm not going to let April Nelson take that from you or them."

"Really?" Val's voice was small, like she couldn't believe the higher road Stephanie was taking.

"Really. I imagine Helen shut the conversation down."

"Once she got over the shock of me keeping in touch with you, yeah."

"Then I'm not worried. Helen only wants one child, and that's all she's got. Besides, if Grandma was still alive, Helen would have to worry about her telling April all Helen's dirty laundry." Stephanie replied with a smile.

Val let out a choked laugh. "That she would have. I For a long time, I wondered why Grandma never aired it before."

Stephanie knew it was because of her. Grandma Mazur understood Stephanie's desire to keep her past quiet and left behind. By airing Helen's dirty laundry to the world, she would have ended up sending people Stephanie's door. It was something Edna was unwilling to do to her favorite granddaughter.

Changing the subject away from their grandmother, Stephanie asked, "Are you really doing alright? Is there anything I can help with?"

"I'm doing as well as I can be." Val admitted. "Mom is putting me through my paces, and I think that's only a fraction of what she used to do to you."

"Why doesn't she have you helping with the managerial side? You've got a business degree. There's no reason she should have you cleaning houses."

Val let out a deep sigh. "She said I've gotten lazy in California, having people there to do things for me. She's teaching me a lesson."

"What utter crap!"

"Steph, maybe this is a good thing. It's helping me understand a small amount of what she did to you."

"You don't have to do this like it's some kind of penance!" Stephanie protested. "We've moved past this."

Valerie was quiet for so long Stephanie checked her phone to make sure they were still connected. Finally, she said, "I can never begin to thank you for forgiving me and letting us have another chance at a healthy relationship. But I think I need to do this for me."

Stephanie knew she couldn't argue with her sister. "I won't push it, but you've got so much more to give, and I hope Helen sees that, or you find something that will be better for you." She paused, then asked hesitantly, "Why didn't you call me? I would have helped any way I could have."

"I know, but I didn't want Mom to find out you and I are talking again, and you have such a tiny apartment. I couldn't ask you to house us when I knew you've got to have some down time to rest."

Stephanie couldn't fault Valerie for her logic. It made sense.

"Just, promise me you'll call if you need anything. If I have to face the dragon to help you, I will."

"As long as you promise to keep taking the girls out, we're good."

Stephanie laughed. "That's not a hard promise to keep."

Disconnecting a few minutes later, Stephanie leaned back against Sergei's desk. April's tenacity was actually impressive. If Stephanie didn't hate the fact that April was blatantly trying to get information on Stephanie's past, the dancer might be willing to give the reporter kudos.

She was also relieved Helen shut the conversation down. The plus side to Stephanie being disowned by Helen was that Helen refused to speak about her. It was like she'd never existed. Which worked well in Stephanie's favor right now. If Helen decided to speak about Stephanie, who knew how much damage could be done?

Muffled voices brought Stephanie out of her reverie. Sergei opened the door with Carlos right behind him. Sergei paused when he saw her, but didn't kick her out.

"Stephanie, what's going on?" He asked. Sergei was a slave driver as a choreographer, but as a person, he was genuinely decent.

"My sister called. Apparently there's a reporter sniffing around asking a lot of questions." She replied.

Carlos stiffened when he heard that. He knew it was April and that nothing good would come of this. April was relentless as a reporter and had a high need to get to the top.

"There will be no reporter's doing personal interviews here." Sergei decided, wanting to protect Stephanie.

Stephanie flashed him a smile "Of course there will. You've got to promote the show."

It wouldn't be enough to satisfy April, Carlos thought. She was not going to rest until she got the story she was after. Before he could provide any solution, Stephanie was already speaking. "I'll continue doing what I do best with questions of my personal life: deflect."

Plus, she figured April wouldn't want anyone to know she was digging around. If she was as ambitious as Stephanie thought, then she wasn't going to risk another reporter getting the scoop out from under her.

"Stephanie," Sergei started, looking concerned. He knew she'd been made aware of the possible stalker situation.

Stephanie held up a hand, "We're protected here, yes? If we're going to promote the show, we can have interviews here. Is it possible to have any Rangemen here during that time?" She looked at Carlos.

"Absolutely."

"And the gala this Friday?" Sergei asked, dryly.

"Perhaps Stephanie shouldn't go."

"She's the principle dancer." Sergei sighed. "As much as I would love to tell you to stay home that night, we need you there to help generate interest."

"Where is the gala being held?" Carlos asked. When he was given the information he almost sighed with relief. "You're in luck. That gala is protected by RangeMan."

"That is a huge relief." Stephanie said. As much as she didn't want a stalker, and couldn't understand why she had one, she was grateful to know Carlos was there taking care of her. She smiled at him. "And speaking of the gala, would you like to be my date?"

"Love to, Babe."

Stephanie's smile lit up the room. Sergei focused on something on his desk to hide his own smile. He knew about Stephanie's past with Carlos and was glad to see something was happening again. He also knew a certain someone who would be happy to hear about this development.

"Ahem." He looked up at them. "Stephanie, you need to eat something before rehearsal starts again, and I need to finish up with the security system."

"Oh, right." Stephanie tore her eyes away from Carlos, flushing. "I'll see you Friday night?"

Carlos nodded, flashing a quick grin at her before turning back to Sergei. He'd wanted to sweep her into his arms and give her a kiss that would make her senseless, but he was here on business and had a certain image to uphold right now.

~O~O~O~

The following evening found Stephanie sharing a booth with Andy. They were laughing over pizza, enjoying their beer and catching up over the last couple years.

"So, the gala this weekend," Andy grinned, "rumor has it you have a date this year."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. Sometimes her fellow dancers were worse gossips than the Burg busybodies she'd grown up with.

"Yes, I have a date. Don't you?"

"I do, but everyone agreed it's more juicy that you have a date." Andy laughed. "Is it anyone we know?"

"You saw him the other night at the club." She answered.

"Nice!" Andy high fived her. "You said you two know each other."

"It's a long story, and not one I particularly want to get into."

"You realize saying something like that makes people want to know even more, right?" Andy shook his head. "I've never heard you mention this guy."

"There are things I don't talk about." She took a sip of beer. "He was one of them."

"Was? So you'll talk about him now." Andy raised his eyebrows as he ate more pizza. Stephanie shook her head in amazement. Andy was always capable of putting away more food than any of their fellow dancers. No one knew where he put it, but plenty were jealous he could inhale that much food.

"Tell me about him."

"He owns a security firm, RangeMan." Stephanie started.

"Right!" Andy snapped his fingers. "The one who was there yesterday installing cameras. What's going on with that?"

Secretly glad for the abrupt subject change, Stephanie shrugged. "No idea. All Sergei would tell me was he had some concerns."

"Hm, I wonder what about." Andy scratched his chin.

Something told Stephanie to keep news of her stalker quiet. While she thought it was nothing, she knew there was no sense in alerting too many people. Plus, if she had a stalker, they hadn't done anything other than send her flowers. Nothing to be concerned about yet.

"Anyway, back to your new man," Andy said steering the conversation around with a devilish grin. Stephanie groaned inwardly. Andy was like a pit bull.

~O~O~O~

Meanwhile, Ranger walked into his office with Lester close behind. "Do you think Stephanie will set me up with any of the women?"

"Santos, we have a job to do there. Picking up women isn't part of the description."

"No, but based on how late you came back yesterday, or should I say this morning, tells me you've already got some action." Lester grinned at the glare his cousin gave him. Kicking the door shut, Lester asked, "Seriously, are you two alright?"

"Yeah." Ranger nodded. "Yeah, we're really good."

"As in I threaten both of you if you hurt each other?"

Ranger barked out a laugh. "You really think you could hurt either of us?"

Lester looked thoughtful. "Mm, no. But I have both your backs. So I'd have to find something."

"Thanks man," Ranger sat down with a laugh. Truth be told, he was glad Lester had both his and Stephanie's backs. It would make protecting Stephanie that much better.

"Did you get any weird vibes at the studio?" Lester asked going into business mode.

"No, but we've got a stronger complication." Ranger told him about April's intrusion into Stephanie's personal life.

Lester let out a low whistle. "Wow."

Both men were impressed with how well Stephanie handled herself in regards to April, but they also knew since Ranger had been sleeping with April things had a possibility of getting pretty ugly.

The buzz on Ranger's phone caught his attention. Looking at the caller ID, he said, "Speak of the devil."

"Manoso." He answered.

"Hello, Ric," April crooned. "I'm hoping you're free tonight."

"I'm not actually."

"I've got such an itch to scratch—"

"April, I'm not interested." Ranger said firmly.

"But-but-" She spluttered.

"It's not you," He raised crossed fingers up in front of him. Lester grinned. "I've started seeing someone and I'm not going to start things off by sleeping with another woman."

"I…see." She said finally. "Well, it's been fun, Ric."

Ranger hung up with satisfaction. Lester raised an eyebrow. "So, if you hurt Stephanie, I'll hurt you."

"Shut up."

"Wait, hang on, I'm making this fair," Lester fished his phone out of his pocket. He typed quickly and set it down. "There."

"What did you do?"

Ranger's cell phone pinged. Picking it up he looked at a text from Stephanie: _Why is Lester telling me he'll hurt me if I hurt you?_

 _He's making things fair._ Ranger texted back.

 _I don't want to know._

Ranger grinned at the message before putting his phone away. Lester was texting on his phone. "What are you doing?"

"Telling your mother."

"What?" Outrage came out of him.

"You don't want her to say I told you so?"

"Santos!"

"Hey, where's your first date?" Lester ducked a flying stapler. "Come on; let us be a little excited for you two!"

"Be excited elsewhere and silently!"

"Does silently include _Carlos and Stephanie sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G—acck!"_ Lester choked as Ranger managed to get across his desk and put his cousin in a headlock.


End file.
